Refurbished End Table with Chalk Paint

October 25, 2020 2 Comments

Years ago, I purchased a set of end tables to go in our living room. The style of these end tables doesn’t match well with our current decor, so I started refurbishing them to give them a new look. Unfortunately, as I started to sand down the first end table, I realized that these were VERY cheap end tables and mostly made out of particleboard. Yep – that doesn’t sand well at all. So, with the next end table, I took a new approach and refurbished it with chalk paint. No sanding needed – woohoo!

This is a SUPER easy project that I completed in an afternoon – hope you find it useful!

PS: Like the clock? Here’s the link –> Retro Digital Flip Clock


 

SUPPLIES

Paint Thinner (Amazon) (Home Depot)

Base Coat: Pale Sepia (Home Depot)

  • The base coat can be whatever you want, so don’t feel like you have to go with this color! The dark wax will change it quite a bit.

Dry Brush Coat: Weathered White Chalk Paint (Amazon) (Home Depot)

  • Any white paint will do. I just picked a slightly off-white paint for the dry brush portion.

Wax Coat: Dark Interior Chalk Paint Wax (Amazon) (Home Depot)

  • I bought the Behr wax from Home Depot which has been amazing, however, the Amazon one is much cheaper.

Chalk Paint Brush (Amazon) (Home Depot)

  • I used this brush for the majority of my project. The Amazon one is cheaper but the Home Depot one may be more readily available. 🙂

Chip Brush (Amazon) (Home Depot)

  • I used the chip brush for the dry brush portion of this project.

Wax Brush (Amazon) (Home Depot)

  • I don’t know if this is the brush you are supposed to use…but it worked perfect for me!

DIRECTIONS

Step #1: Prep & Base Chalk Paint

To make painting easier, I did take the end table apart. It’s not necessary but I find it to be much easier for painting. One of the greatest benefits of chalk paint is that you do not have to sand. I simply prepped the end table by cleaning it with paint thinner and rag. Always use gloves when handling paint thinner!

Once the table was clean and dry, I covered it in two coats of the Pale Sepia paint using the chalk paint brush. This color came out a very pale beige that had a tinge of pink in it. Honestly, I hated the color at first because of the pinkness in it! However, you will see that there was definitely no pink by the end.

Step #2: Dry Brush

This step is my favorite! Dry brushing is a new technique I learned and I love it so much! To dry brush, you need to:

  1. Dip your chip brush into the white paint you selected.
  2. Wipe the brush on the edge of the can or a towel.
  3. Lightly cover the piece of furniture to create a wood grain effect.

As you can see, it totally changed the appearance of the furniture and gave it so much more definition.

 

Step #3: Dark Wax

During the final step, you will need to select another brush because you won’t want to use your wax brush for paint again. Personally, I selected the angled sash brush shown above. Again, I’m not sure if this is what I am supposed to use – but it worked perfectly!

Simply dab the brush into the wax. You don’t need a lot because a little goes a LONG way. Brush across the furniture piece following the brush strokes you created with your chip brush. I only used one coat of the wax and then let it dry.

The dark wax really changed the color of the piece and took away the pink from the pale sepia paint and gave it an aged effect.


That’s it! If you any questions and/or ideas you would like to share, please drop them in the comments below!

2 Comments

  • Angela March 7, 2021 at 4:21 am

    What brand was your base coat in sepia?

    • MK June 7, 2021 at 5:28 pm

      Hello! The base coat was actually the sepia tone, then the white was used on top of it.

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